In both the book and DVD, Janet has a nice, straight-forward delivery.  After a preliminary look at the basics of tuning the guitar and holding the bar, she starts you off with playing the melodies of some simple folk/country tunes and progresses from there.  As you might expect, the CD lets you hear what the songs are supposed to sound like and the DVD lets you watch how Janet plays them.  

Although the focus is on folk and bluegrass tunes, a wide range of material is presented including a pair of Hawaiian songs.  Most of the tunes in the book will probably be familiar to anyone wishing to play beginning dobro.  Some of the topics and techniques covered include: Getting Started, Reading Tablature, Finding the Melody, Roll Patterns, Hammers and Pull-Offs, Playing Up the Neck, Capos, Minor Chords, Harmonics and so on.  There are very few scales and exercises here; Janet seems to prefer to teach everything in terms of playing songs.  

I believe that I got my copy from Amazon, but it is also available from Janet Davis Music, Elderly and wherever quality music books are sold.  The first page is a brief history of the reso guitar.  With a start like that, how can you go wrong?  If you are looking for good beginner instructional material, get this set!  

NB: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  They are used for descriptive purposes only; no infringement is intended.  

He covers the basics pretty fast and moves the player fairly quickly into intermediate material.  As the title suggests, the song selections are drawn from that vast pool of the folk music and folk blues traditions.  Although Steve covers technique when encountered and theory as needed, his instruction is entirely song based so don't look for any scales or warm-up exercises here.  I rate this book as beginner/intermediate, but for someone with absolutely no prior experience with stringed instruments something a little simpler and slower paced might be a better place to start.  

I got my copy from Elderly, but it is available wherever good music books are sold.  

NB: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  They are used for descriptive purposes only; no infringement is intended.  

The instrument photos show front and back views.  There are close-up shots of headstocks, coverplates and other instrument features.  Information about the construction details and factory methods are given.  

This book has one major short-coming: There are no photos of the inside details of any instrument.  I would very much have liked to see pictures of the soundwells, cones, spiders, bridge inserts and other internal details.  While this oversight is not a deal-breaker for me in terms of recommending this book, I find it to be a serious omission. 

All in all, this book is an excellent addition to the library of any fan of resophonic guitars or collector of music picture books.  I got my copy from Mr Toth, but it is available wherever quality music books are sold.  

NB: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  They are used for descriptive purposes only; no infringement is intended.